Ohia lehua tree, Hawaii 1980

This image shows a mature Ohia lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha ) tree growing on on solidifed lava in the kilauea section of the Hawaiian Volcanoes National Park. Ohia lehua is species of flowering evergreen tree in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, endemic to the islands of Hawaii varying from a small shrub to a 100 foot tree, found in habitats from lowland dry shrub lands to rain forests, from high elevation bogs to dry lava flows. It produces bright red or yellow flowers. Many native Hawaiian traditions refer to Ohia lehua trees and the forests it forms as sacred to Pele, the volcano goddess, and to Laka, the goddess of hula.